Even thoughyou are no longer in public office, youstill have ethical obligations to maintain fairness, integrity, and transparency.

Step-by-Step Breakdown:

1. Ethical Issues at Play:

Reviewing acompetitor’s project for freecould:

Compromise professional integrity.

Create aperception of bias or unfair treatment.

Lead toconflicts with your previous employer or professional obligations.

2. Why Fairness, Courtesy, and Good Faith Are Important:

Professionals must avoid using their influence unethically, even after leaving a position.

Example:

A retired CETshould not provide confidential insightsinto a competitor’s project without proper compensation and disclosure.

3. Why Option A Is Correct:

Fairness and professional courtesy require declining such requests or ensuring full transparency.

4. Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

B (Conflict of interest disclosure)– This is not adirect conflict of interest, but anethical integrity issue.

C (Warning about overruled decisions)–Not relevantin this case.

D (Promoting public knowledge)– Ethical fairness ismore important here.